JUNEAU — The state House passed legislation Wednesday that would push back by two months the date by which Alaska legislators and other public officials must file annual financial disclosures.

HB 65 would move the filing deadline from March 15 to May 15.

A minority-led effort to keep the reporting deadline for legislators as March 15 failed. Rep. Scott Kawasaki said legislators owe it to the public to provide that information while the Legislature is in session. The 90-day session ends in April.

JUNEAU — Gov. Bill Walker said he will introduce legislation to overhaul and expand the Medicaid system in Alaska.

Walker, who campaigned on expanding Medicaid coverage, discussed his plans during a news conference Tuesday, surrounded by supporters. He and others wore blue buttons reading: “It’s the right thing to do.”

Applicable cases would be ones that resulted in a person being acquitted of all charges or having those charges dismissed, or in which someone was acquitted on some charges and had the remaining charges dropped. Those records could not be published by the court system online if 60 days had elapsed from the date of acquittal or dismissal.

JUNEAU — The state operating budget cleared its first hurdle this past week, winning passage in the Alaska House. The reaction was mixed.

Members of the Democratic-led minority argued it cut too deeply and hit programs for children, senior citizens and the needy especially hard. Conservative Republican Rep. Lora Reinbold broke ranks with the GOP-led majority in voting against the bill, which she argued did not go far enough with cuts.

JUNEAU — The smell of mayo and murmur of voices filled the air as the committee rooms reserved at the state Capitol for an informational gathering on Medicaid expansion filled to standing room only with legislators, aides and others.

Many in attendance plucked from the back free boxed lunches of sandwiches and chips provided by Americans for Prosperity-Alaska, which opposes expansion and put on the event. The public TV crew that broadcasts hearings and other legislative goings-on was there.

JUNEAU — A co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said Tuesday that he doesn’t think he can support Medicaid expansion.

Sen. Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, said drafts for a bill he plans to introduce aimed at reforming the current Medicaid system had included Medicaid expansion. He said he had been working with the administration and it would have been reasonable for the administration to think they were on the same page with regard to expansion based on their conversations.

JUNEAU — Tensions flared Monday between members of the Alaska House and Gov. Bill Walker over how best to advance state efforts to secure a major gas pipeline project, with a visibly upset Walker denouncing a bill from the speaker of the House as “the most un-Alaskan thing I’ve ever seen put together.”

JUNEAU — This week marks the halfway point in the scheduled 90-day session. It also marks the week when some legislators head to Washington, D.C., for meetings related to energy, economic issues and the Arctic.

Six legislators, three each from the House and Senate, are expected to attend meetings tied to the Energy Council and Pacific NorthWest Economic Region, a small number compared to recent years. Other lawmakers have been excused for visits to their districts, but both the House and Senate are expected to continue with their work.

JUNEAU — A House subcommittee has removed items related to Medicaid expansion from the Alaska health department's budget, despite objections of minority Democrats.

Republicans on the subcommittee, comprised of House Finance Committee members, repeated their desire for Gov. Bill Walker to introduce a bill on expansion rather than have expansion-related items sprinkled throughout the operating budget.